Cannabis should be legalised

A leading researcher has said the government should think carefully about allowing cannabis to be sold legally as a recreational drug.

Professor Roger Pertwee, a researcher from the University of Aberdeen, will make a speech about the issue at the British Science Association festival in Birmingham.

Professor Pertwee told the BBC that he wanted to talk about limiting the amount of damage caused by the drug.

"At the moment there is an awful lot of harm caused by what we have at the moment, with children going to a drug dealer or they try and grow it themselves and then they get into trouble with the law."

He said the government should take into consideration the idea of organising a group to license the selling of cannabis for recreational purposes.

"You would have to think about licensing a suitable supplier and have retail outlets and the next step would be to have marketable, branded products that someone wants to use. At the same time it's got to be as safe as possible," he said.

In response to Professor Pertwee's comments, a Home Office spokesperson said it had been proved that cannabis was "harmful" and the government did not think that decriminalising the drug was a good plan.